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MortgagePoint ยป Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 24 November 2025 C O V E R S T O R Y UNDER PRESSURE With rates easing and affordability still out of reach for millions, housing enters 2026 in slow motion, testing the patience, adaptability, and strategy of every market participant. B y DAV I D W H A R T O N F or the U.S. housing market, the story of 2025 has been one of tension and transition. Prices have cooled, rates have steadied, and the panic of the pandemic boom has given way to a long, grinding recalibration. In this month's MortgagePoint cover feature, a panel of economists and subject-matter experts reveal that, while the worst may be behind us, structural challenges remain deeply entrenched: supply shortages, affordability constraints, and escalating costs are reshaping the landscape for homebuyers, lenders, and policymakers alike. Housing's next chapter begins not with a boom or bust, but a reset. As the market heads into 2026, the forces that once drove rapid appreciation and record refinancing have given way to patience, pragmatism, and recalibration. The experts featured in this issue agree: the coming year will test resilience as much as strategy. It's a time for measured optimism, careful risk management, and long-term thinking. MOLLY BOESEL Senior Principal Economist, Cotality Q: From your vantage point at Cotality, what are the top three structural challenges you see for the U.S. housing market heading into 2026? BOESEL: As we look toward 2026, we see three primary structural challenges that are deeply interconnected and will continue to dominate the market dynamic: the supply shortfall, affordability constraints, and rising non-mortgage costs. We're dealing with a long-term supply deficit stemming from under- building new homes since the Great Financial Crisis. Compounding that is the 'mortgage-rate lock-in' effect; existing homeowners are staying put to keep their low rates. The combination of not enough new homes and low turnover of the exist- ing stock keeps inventory tight and prices elevated. Affordability constraints are a direct result of the supply issue, which keeps prices high. High home prices, when coupled with mortgage rates gen- erally in the 6% and higher range, have pushed monthly payments well beyond the reach of many potential buyers. The final structural challenge is how other expenses are undermining affordability. We're seeing affordability stressed not just by the mortgage, but by increases in non-mortgage costs, particularly property taxes and insurance premiums. It limits demand for new buyers and poses a genuine risk for existing homeowners, es- pecially those on a fixed income. If those costs can't be absorbed, it can ultimately lead to delinquency. D A V I D W H A R T O N , Editor-in-Chief of MortgagePoint, has 20 years' experience in journalism, having worked for the Five Star Institute since 2017. Wharton has an extensive and diversified portfolio of freelance material, with published con- tributions in both online and print media publications. He can be reached at David. Wharton@thefivestar.com.